Foraging For Food

of butter. Slowly and carefully add one cup of milk. Drop the dumplings on to the simmering mulberries and cover. Soon, they will be light and fluffy. When you serve them, scoop the mulberries over the top of the dumplings. While we enjoy them like this, my sister's family likes to top them with cream, whipped cream or ice cream.

Other Berries

Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and grapes all grow in the wild. As with mulberries, these can all be eaten plain or added to fruit salads or made into jam.

Apples

Apple trees grow just about everywhere but the apples on them tend to be small, misshapen and tart. Just because they don't look like apples you would buy at the grocery store or farmer's market doesn't mean they are inedible.

I wash wild apples thoroughly and peel them. Cut out around the bad spots or worm holes and pare the apples into small chunks. I boil them down in a big pot with a little bit of water, enough sugar to sweeten the apples to taste and some cinnamon and nutmeg. When the apples are cooked, I mash them smooth. My daughters enjoy this homemade wild applesauce plain, but my husband eats it over vanilla ice cream.

With enough sugar to tame the tartness, wild apples are good in apple crisps and apple pies, too.

Mint

The distinctive smell makes mint hard to miss. Mint is an invasive plant that takes over its surroundings so if you find a patch of mint, it is usually a large one.

I like to put a mint leaf into my iced tea for a little flavor, but mostly I gather it for mint jelly.

Mint jelly is easy to make and a wonderful treat around the holidays. That's why I make extra mint jelly to give away as Christmas gifts. I boil three cups of apple cider with a half a cup of fresh mint leaves. After about 15 or 20 minutes, I skim out the leaves and add one package of pectin. Stir and continue boiling. Gradually add four cups of sugar and boil for several minutes. Them pour into canning jars and process.

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